Chapter 23
Anywhere but here. Almost anywhere, Elijah hastily amended the thought. At least he wasn’t standing on an auction platform
with a microphone in his hand.
He set the last box of canned goods on the table, then squeezed between tables into the combination store’s farmers market
booth in the middle of downtown Lee’s Gulch. Then he slid them back together. Still on the outside, Slowpoke woofed.
“Poor hund.” Sadie plopped her basket of individually wrapped cookies on the first table. “He likes to sleep under canopy.”
The girl’s speech had improved so much at the English school, and she was as outspoken about all pets as she’d always been.
They’d already had this discussion twice. “No hunde allowed. The health department says so.” Elijah directed his comments
to Slowpoke as well.
A full-throated bark this time. It was bad enough that Slowpoke had been left behind while Elijah traveled the auction circuit
for most of the month of May. Now this.
Elijah shrugged and threw his hands up. “Discuss it with the inspector, my friend. You too, Schweschder.”
“Do you always talk to your hund like that?”
Her tone full of thinly veiled disdain, Kathryn slid Sadie’s basket toward her and began to arrange a few of the cookies on the table. The woman had been as prickly as a full-grown cactus since that night a month ago at the farm. No wonder. Elijah had offended her with his too-honest words in the workshop. Even so, they had no choice but to work together today.
The sly look on Mom’s face when she told him he’d have to go suggested that she might not like having tummy troubles, but
she did love the idea of Elijah working in town at a market where Bonnie also would be selling her wares. Especially after
having been out of town. If Mom gave any thought to how uncomfortable it might be for Kathryn and Elijah to share duties in
the booth, she hadn’t shown it.
“What other way would I talk to him?” That probably wasn’t the best way to respond to the woman’s question. After all, he’d
given her reason to be angry with him. Still, lots of people talked to their dogs as if they understood—because they did.
“This is the last box of canned goods. Shall I arrange them, or do you want to?”
“I’ll do it.” As the only Miller girl not currently down with a nasty stomach bug, Sadie was determined to be helpful. “Let
me.”
“Jah, let her.”
So far Elijah hadn’t run into Bonnie, but there was still plenty of time.
Sei so gut, Gott, let there be time.
And let me be up to the task.
Night after night of lying in his motel bed, listening to Grandpa snore, imagining the conversation. Asking the question.
Getting the right answer.
Today was the day.
What if she said no? And why wouldn’t she? Why would she want to spend time with a man who couldn’t carry on a simple conversation like a normal human being?
Stop it. One step at a time.
“I’ll take care of the table, Sadie. Why don’t you go get yourself a cruller and some chocolate milk?” He held out a few dollar
bills. “Take Slowpoke with you. That will make him happy.”
With a delighted whoop, Sadie pushed her thick-lensed glasses up her nose with one hand and took the money with the other.
Her sweet tooth was notorious. She took off at a trot, Slowpoke following at her heels. This way Elijah would have something
to do. He needed to keep busy. Sadie had learned to make change at school, and she loved helping out in the store. Still,
Mom’s instructions had been clear. Two adults should be in the booth at all times.
He slid a quart jar of bread-and-butter pickles across the table next to dill pickle spears, pickled beets, tomatoes, green
beans, and an assortment of jams and jellies. All were made from produce grown in his mother’s garden. The pickles were the
bestsellers, just ahead of the strawberry jam.
The farmers market in Lee’s Gulch was hopping with Plain and English shoppers alike, taking advantage of the Saturday gathering
of artisans and farmers from across the region, buying everything from handcrafted jewelry to leather goods to fired ceramic
pots to the fresh produce available the first week of June. A local bluegrass band made up of retirees, who strummed a banjo,
a mandolin, and a fiddle, played with more enthusiasm than talent. Shoppers rewarded them with tips thrown into a banjo case.
Kathryn had already been in the booth when he and Sadie arrived. Her responses to his questions had been just short of snippy.
Her pink cheeks, the way she rushed around arranging baskets of individually wrapped chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, sugar,
and peanut butter cookies, her head bent, clearly spoke of her discomfort.
“Maybe we should put out some more of the banana bread and the zucchini bread.” Elijah reached toward the box of baked goods on the back table at the same time Kathryn did. Their arms bumped. She backed away like she’d been burned. “Es dutt mer.”
“It’s okay.”
Her face said differently.
“I know you didn’t want to be here.” Elijah dug for the words. It was like trying to rip the stump out of the ground when
an old maple tree had died in their backyard. Painfully difficult, almost impossible. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
Suddenly it felt like August in this particular booth. “I don’t either.”
“I’m happy to be here. It’s my job.” Kathryn slapped a set of Josie’s handmade hot pads on the table next to place mats Sherrie
had designed and sewn. “I’m sorry it’s a hardship for you.”
“It’s not... I don’t mind.” Elijah wiped his damp palms on his pants. He grabbed a washrag and scrubbed the table. “Somebody
set their coffee on the table. They spilled it and didn’t clean up after themselves.”
“I can handle this by myself.”
“We never leave an employee alone. In case it gets busy. Or there’s a question you can’t answer.”
“Or the person isn’t capable of making change on his own.”
“I can make change.” True, Sadie did a better job than he did. Elijah rarely worked with money. His math skills, however,
were good, the product of measuring, cutting, and fitting his wooden pieces. “I’d just rather you do it.”
Because her people skills were better. He’d get flustered and count out the money wrong because he was nervous. Not because
he couldn’t do the math.
“Gut. I may be a girl, but I do plenty of math when baking. Ever tried to triple a recipe?”
Time to move on. “Mom sent a thermos of iced tea and sandwiches. Would you like some?”
“No, danki.”
The temperature rose another ten degrees in the booth.
“Bruder, Bruder, look who I found.” Sadie’s excited shout likely could be heard four booths down. “It’s Bonnie!”
Elijah turned. Sadie held hands with none other than Bonnie Yoder. The little girl smiled from ear to ear. So did Slowpoke,
who immediately lay down at Bonnie’s feet. Bonnie’s smile was fairly wide too. She spoke first. “Hallo.”
Elijah dropped a loaf of cranberry-raisin bread on the table. Bonnie wore a deep-purple dress. Purple was definitely her color.
Elijah opened his mouth. A person should say something in response. For the life of him, nothing came to mind. He glanced
at Kathryn. She was busy with an English woman who wanted assurance the jam was gluten-free and to know why there was no list
of ingredients on the jar. No help there.
Bonnie’s expression turned quizzical. “Are you all right?”
“Jah, Bruder, are you all right?” Sadie jumped around like a kid who needed a bathroom. “Mamm said Bonnie is your friend.”
His face on fire, Elijah nodded. Mom had enlisted a little girl in her matchmaking schemes. She had no shame.
“Cat got your tongue?”
“Nee, Matilda the Cat would never take his tongue.” Sadie frowned. “Do you have a cat?”
“I do. Her name is Puff.”
“A gut cat name. Mine is Matilda the Cat.”
This was ridiculous. Elijah shook his head.
“Laryngitis?”
“Nee, he talks gut.” Sadie frowned. She let go of Bonnie’s arm. She crawled under the table and popped up on Elijah’s side.
“I get you water. You need drink.”
“Hallo.” Finally, he got it out in a hoarse croak. “Hallo. I’m fine.”
“So you’re back.”
“Jah.”
Bonnie picked up the bread, then laid it so it completed a neat, straight row of baked goods. “You haven’t been by the shop
to see the display.”
“Just got back.”
“You’ll need to restock. Your toys have sold well.”
“Gut. That’s gut.” So good. He had a reason to return to the store to see Bonnie. “I will. I have a week before we go again.”
“You’re still not done?” The sweet kindness in her voice said what the words didn’t. Bonnie knew how much Elijah dreaded calling
auctions, and she understood. “Jason is still doing poorly?”
“He’s back in the hospital.”
“Ach, what happened?”
“The infection came back. The doctor said it’s fairly common when an appendix bursts. It has some fancy name... perit-something.
It means Jason has an abscess near his belly. They’re pumping him full of antibiotics.”
“That’s awful. Is he going to be all right?”
“Doctor says jah. Dat says Gott’s will be done. Dat and Caitlin are up there now.”
“That’s scary. It’s gut, though, that there’s so much family to help Caitlin out. And you can pitch in with the auctioneering.”
That she could say that with a straight face said much about her. Elijah forced himself to nod.
“Now that you’re stepping up to be an auctioneer, I’m surprised you don’t want to sell your toys here in your family’s booth.” Kathryn’s customer had left without buying the jam. She sidled closer to Elijah, then leaned in front of him to straighten a row of fruit pies. “You can support both businesses, and we can take care of the bookkeeping and carting the toys from your workshop.”
Her emphasis on we was unmistakable.
“Elijah’s a Homespun Handicrafts vendor, so we have them on display in our booth. They’re selling well. Tourists are more likely to shop here in town.” Bonnie’s tone seemed affable, but a definite
current ran through her words. “Feel free to stop by and take a gander. They’ll make fun Christmas gifts for the kinner in
your family. You might like one of my stuffies for yourself.”
“I’m a little old for stuffed animals.” Kathryn glowered. “Besides, my mamm makes them.”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you were still in school.”
That would make her fourteen. She was at least eighteen, maybe nineteen. What was going on here? “I made a commitment to Homespun
Handicrafts.” And its owners. Elijah edged away from Kathyrn. The family store had thrived without his contribution for years.
“I’ll start on some new pieces as soon as I can. Which ones have sold the best?”
Neither woman seemed to have heard him.
“Bonnie?”
The woman’s gaze switched to him, no longer warm. “Stop by the shop later. Hannah has the inventory. You can get your report
and whatever receipts you have coming.”
Definitely snippy.
She sidestepped Slowpoke and stalked away.
In Elijah’s late-night imagined encounters, their conversation had never gone like this. Every time he’d gathered his courage, spoken with ease, and asked the question. Made the invitation. Started the journey.
Sadie set a plastic cup of water on the table. “You make her mad?”
“Nee, I don’t think so.” Who knew? He was terrible at this. “Maybe.”
“You go talk to her.” Sadie pushed on him with two sticky hands. “I sell eppies.”
She was more likely to eat them. “Mamm said I shouldn’t leave—”
“Mamm say you need talk to Bonnie.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Wait a minute.” Kathryn planted her hands on her hips. “I thought we weren’t supposed to be alone in the booth.”
“Not alone. I’m here.” Sadie touched the metal cashbox on the table. “I make change gut.”
“You’re how old... ten... eleven?”
“Eleven. Big girl.”
“I’ll stay within eyeshot and earshot.” Elijah squeezed Sadie’s shoulder. “But Sadie’s right. She’s gut at making change.
The customers like her too. She’s a gut saleswoman.”
Sadie beamed.
Ignoring Kathryn’s disapproving scowl, Elijah slipped between the tables that lined the back of the booth. Of course Slowpoke
immediately followed. “Stay.”
If dogs could speak English, Slowpoke would’ve said, “ In your dreams. ” His sharp bark didn’t need translating. Elijah rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever.”
Bonnie had moved on to a Cumberland County photographer’s booth, where she sold her framed photos as well as greeting cards featuring them. Heart clanging in his chest, Elijah approached with all the care he’d use with a skittish horse. He picked up a framed photo of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His hands shook. He returned it to its spot. Words were in short supply. He cleared his throat. “You seem bent out of shape.”
“Who, me?” Bonnie held up an eight-by-ten of two gorgeous Morgans in a pasture shrouded in fog. She showed it first to Elijah,
then Slowpoke. “This would sell well in the shop, don’t you think? Tourists would love them.”
Slowpoke’s tongue hung out the side of his mouth. He didn’t seem impressed.
Words wanted to stick in his throat, but Elijah forced them out. “Are you mad at me?”
He sounded like a lovesick teenager.
Bonnie settled the photo on the table. She rolled on to the next booth featuring potted herbs and cacti. “My mamm wanted me
to pick her up some fresh lavender. The dill smells so gut, doesn’t it?”
This was ridiculous. He gulped a long breath, straightened his shoulders, and went for it. “Bonnie, look at me.”
The force of the command surprised Elijah. If Bonnie’s startled expression was any indication, her too. She moved away from
the booth. Her rollator wheels bumped and shimmied over the uneven asphalt and concrete. Elijah kept pace.
“I’m not mad.”
“You sure act mad.”
“Why would I be angry? It’s a free country. If you’d rather work in a booth with a teenager, it’s no skin off my nose. I’m
just a... business partner.”
“Nee. You’re not.” Elijah huffed. A chasm opened up. He stood on the precipice. Now or never. “Not to me. Maybe to you, but
not to me.”
Bonnie’s gaze skittered toward him, then back to the uneven pavement in front of them. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying... I’m asking you to take a buggy ride with me.”
She halted. Her hands gripped the rollator handles so tightly, her knuckles were white. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” Elijah’s voice faltered. He swallowed hard. His heart pounded. Don’t blow it. Don’t blow it. “Why do you think? Why does a Plain man ask a Plain woman to take a buggy ride?”
Bonnie’s cheeks had turned scarlet, but she met Elijah’s gaze straight on. “When?”
“Tonight.”
“Okay. Tonight.”
Suddenly aware of the people surging around them, the prying stares from Plain booths, and the fact that he’d broken his promise
to Kathryn, Elijah backed away. “Tonight.”
He whirled and strode away, Slowpoke at his side, before Bonnie could change her mind.